Losing your only All-Star performer for what amounts to 12 games wouldn't seem like a positive development for any NBA team. The Pacers, however, have managed to make it one.
Now, with Victor Oladipo set to return as early as Wednesday when Milwaukee comes to Bankers Life Fieldhouse, the trick will be to fit him back into a complex framework that shifted in his absence without harming the structural stability. That will take time to execute as Oladipo eases his way back from a sore knee that knocked him out of game action 4 1/2 minutes after the opening tipoff against Atlanta on Nov.